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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/29176971">The Barn Owl Society</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/Books_Broadway_Anime/pseuds/Books_Broadway_Anime'>Books_Broadway_Anime</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Original Work</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Britain, Dark Academia, Dramatic, F/M, Forests, Frogs, Murder, Original Characters - Freeform, Original work - Freeform, Plot Twist, Romance, bloody murder, guys im trying, hoitey toitey british stuff, lol probably trash, royaltycore, straight people (ew)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2021-02-03</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2021-02-03</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-13 12:41:22</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>1,367</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/29176971</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/Books_Broadway_Anime/pseuds/Books_Broadway_Anime</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>IN WHICH A ROMANCE GOES DREADFULLY WRONG</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Bella Clearwater/Will, OC/OC</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>The Barn Owl Society</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>This story can also be found on my wattpad, under the same username. <br/>this is an original story, and includes graphic depictions of blood. you have been warned.</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Of all the people attending the party, Bella Clearwater chose to dance with the ghost in the room. The Ballroom was stuffed full of people with money up to their ears, but not an ounce of character. And besides, she knew Will. He was the ghost that lived in her library. They had spent many a night talking until the sun streamed through the window. “So, what's her story? The lady in the too-tight pink dress?” Will asked, they had been at this for hours, Will would find a person who came off as odd, and Bella would make up a story. “That,” Bella began, “is Duchess McBride. She had been married to the Duke, until she realized he was an old fart,” Bella leaned in close to Will’s face “so she ran him through with a kitchen knife” if Will was alive, he’d have shivered. “Actually, she’s my aunt Marie. She’s not married...you can see why. Grandmother hates her. Says she’s too eccentric.” Will smiled at Bella, spinning her out. “People must think you’re quite eccentric too, dancing with a ghost?” Bella returned his grin, returning to his grasp, “Well I believe that everyone is at least a little bit mad. I mean, how could one possibly be sane and wear that?” She asked, pointing to a woman who appeared to have a stuffed frog on her hat. Will chuckled “That is a little bit mad-looking” She turned to him. “See? We’re all just a little mad” she explained as Will led her to the edges of the dance floor, where no one could see the girl who seemed to be dancing with herself. Although will couldn’t understand how no one would notice Bella. The way her dark green dress  swirled around her feet and made her brown eyes look like melted dark chocolate, the way her hair was swirled up into emerald pins that caught the light as they danced. Even the way her dark green dancing slippers moved silently across the floor was beautiful. And Will thought she looked the prettiest out of anyone there. That’s what made his situation so difficult. “Will? Did you hear what I just said?” Will shook out of his daze, only to find himself nose-to-nose with Bella. “Er..no?”<br/>“It wasn’t important anway..” Bella waved it off. The song ended, and was replaced with some sort of line dance. Will tentatively lowered his lips against Bella's ear “do you want to get away from here?” <br/>Bella grinned up at him mischievously “I thought you’d never ask”</p><p>They were running through the forest just outside Clearwater Manor, although it was raining, Bella didn’t mind. She liked the rain quite a bit. She could feel her hair coming out of it’s pins and falling in damp waves around her shoulders. Her skirts were heavy with water. She didn’t understand why she needed three different skirts, but grandmother insists that she is always dressed like a lady should be dressed. I suppose that means that ladies don’t run after handsome ghosts in the forest.<br/>She stopped as she arrived at a clearing of trees. She couldn’t see the faint glow that usually accompanies her ghostly companion. <br/>“Will?”<br/>“Do you know the story of the barn owl society?” Bella looked up to see will sitting up in  a tree looking down at her<br/>“Matthew said that warlocks-”<br/>Will cut her off “No I mean the real story of the Barn Owl Society” <br/>Bella stared up at him, intrigued “Real story?” <br/>Will appeared next to her, “I’ll tell you then” he took a deep non-breath and began his tale “ten years ago, at the Thornborough Preparatory School for boys,” “My brother went there!” Bella exclaimed, earning a pointed look from the ghost “there was a group of students who discovered a door to the spirit world, underneath the stairs to the astronomy tower. myself, a boy named Thomas, and a boy named Alastor. We would meet in the library after curfew and read up about ghosts, until one day-” <br/>Bella’s eyes were wide with intrigue “you all died?” <br/>Will shot her a look “no. Let me finish, Bella.”<br/>“Right, sorry” <br/>“What I was saying is that one day we figured out how to talk with the spirit. She called herself the ghost queen. She gave us gifts, sealing wax, and money, and old jewelry and things she no longer needed in death. And in exchange, we’d do things for her, it started off small, finding objects around the school, old maps, student files and such. We called ourselves the Barn Owl Society,”<br/>“Because Barn Owls were messengers for the spirits?”<br/>“You’re a sharp one, Bella. We even carved ‘The Barn Owl Society’ underneath the stairs.  But then it got weird. She asked for things like locks of our hair, or obituaries. She was looking for something, and we didn’t know what. but when she didn’t find it, they would go into fits of rage, leaving us bloodied and battered, screaming horrible things. And although she couldn’t touch us. She whispered things into Alastor’s head until he went mad and killed himself, and she tormented Thomas until he stopped coming to the meetings, and then there was me. Thomas begged me not to go, but I didn’t listen. I did as the Queen asked. One day she summoned me, asking me to pledge my loyalty to her, to be her king, I refused. They worked themselves into a blind rage, I woke up dead. They killed me.” Will was shaking as he recalled the memories Bella placed her hands against the cold air where his shoulders would be if they had been tangible.<br/>“Will,” <br/>“Don’t it’s fine Bella, because if that never happened, I wouldn't have ever met you” <br/>They were very close to each other now, breathing and not-breathing the same air. She was so close that she could see that his eyes were startling shade of black, even though she could see the trees through his translucency. “Hi,” Bella whispered, breathless.  <br/>“Hi,” he smirked “you’re really short, Bella”<br/>“Am not.” she huffed “You’re just freakishly tall.”<br/>“Bella I’m five foot six.” Will chuckled, leaning (or supposed to be leaning but you know, ghosts can’t touch things due to being dead)<br/>“See, like I said,” Bella looked up at him, “Freakishly tall.”<br/>“There are a lot of things about me that are freakish, darling Bella, but my height is not one of them” <br/>Bella rolled her eyes, “you’re insufferable”<br/>“Same to you.” Will not-breathed, lowering his face down hers, their lips only slightly grazing in a small pocket of heaven, when the dagger pierced Bella’s stomach. Cold metal sliding against hot skin as she bled. “Will…” she stared up at him, eyes teary and confused as Will wrenched the dagger out of her. The dagger had pierced through her coursed, so that you could see straight through the bloodstained material through to the wound in her stomach, staining the once vibrant green of her dress brown. <br/>“It had to be done, Bella” Will said, almost nonchalantly. “It would have happened eventually” The ghost shrugged as this was common sense. “You see, the Ghost Queen has been watching you, and she decided you are to be a part of her court.” He tilted her chin up so her glare met his oh-so-calm gaze “I was just fulfilling her wishes. I never wanted to hurt you,”<br/>“But you still did” Bella said, struggling to breathe. <br/>“In a few minutes, you’ll bleed out. You have two choices. You can come with me now or you can live in the Queen’s purgatory for the rest of your afterlife. The choice is yours, darling Bella”<br/>“I won’t be your person,” she spat.<br/>“You’ve made your choice,” Will snarled “the Queen will be here to collect your soul in the morning.” He threw the dagger into the rain-dampened earth by her ear “Have a nice death, Bella Clearwater” and he was gone. </p><p>Two days later, Bella Clearwater was found in the forest, dead, in a puddle of her own blood.</p><p>You see, sometimes it is not our enemies who hurt us the most, but those who love us.</p>
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